Bungee Jumpers in Stretch Run for Their Rights : Daredevils: Twin tragedies in Michigan and Canada prompt national reassessment, moves in various states to ban sport.

Deaths in Michigan and Canada. Bans in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Angry public hearings in Florida.

Yes, 1992 has been tough on bungee jumping.

The sort-of sport, once expected to go the way of mood rings and pet rocks, instead bounced from fad to growth industry (at $35 to $80 a jump).

A 1991 death, the first in the United States, barely bothered business; bungee attracted daredevil wanna-bes, the curious and those with something to prove or nothing to lose. People bungeed from bridges, cranes, balloons and platforms.

But that changed after the twin tragedies that claimed the lives of two veteran jumpers. The deaths occurred within a single month this summer, prompting a national reassessment.

The first incident occurred July 10 when 28-year-old Joel Gentry fell 180 feet to his death as 300 people looked on during the Auburn, Mich., Corn Festival. A second man was critically injured when the jumping platform crashed to the ground.

Less than a month later, 19-year-old Troy Hurtibese--a veteran of more than 1,500 jumps--died after he jumped without securing his bungee cord. The Aug. 2 fatality occurred in front of hundreds of spectators at a Peterborough, Canada, fairground.

Jumpers, with an elastic cord attached to their ankles, plunge from heights up to 200 feet and wind up like human yo-yos, bouncing up and down after the cord snaps them up short of the ground.

“Bungee jumping will never be risk-free. That’s something people need to know before they decide to jump,” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford said in shutting down 18 bungee jumps in his state.

The move--which was followed by similar decisions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania--infuriated bungee operators. “It’s the safest flying on Earth,” complained Kissimmee, Fla., operator Ray Adams, who suddenly found himself shut down in mid-summer.

In New Jersey, state Labor Commissioner Ray Bramucci disagreed.

“The issue is both the equipment and the qualifications involved, since the margin of error is so slight,” said Bramucci, who shut down his state’s operations during the lucrative summer season.

Garden State officials now require bungee owners to provide engineering data and worker background information.

Florida officials proposed putting warning signs on bungee jumps that showed a bungee cord snapping, a person falling, and a wheelchair logo. They later backed off and agreed to signs reading, “WARNING. Bungee jumping has caused serious injury and death.”

Bungee can go on in Florida under new rules and regulations, including a 100-foot height limit.

The deaths ended a banner stretch for bungee, which invaded the national consciousness from coast to coast.

There was bungee jumping (but no medals) at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. President Bush expressed a desire to take the plunge at a July 4 campaign stop. The WLAF’s Ohio Glory lured customers with free bungee--an appropriate pitch from a 1-9 football team.

Other bungee highlights of the year:

* A New Jersey couple took the plunge, then took the plunge. Timothy Ful Cher and Nony Tedjakusume took their vows while climbing a 170-foot bungee tower in Atlantic City, then exchanged “I DOOOOooooooos” on the way down. The owner of the jump was fined $500 for violating state law by letting two people jump at once.

* The head of a Savannah, Ga., law firm wanted his employees to operate without fear in their competitive business. So Rick Ashman had his employees--six lawyers and 10 office workers--take a 105-foot bungee jump to conquer their apprehensions. “It was wonderful,” said assistant office manager Vivian Lingle. This did not start a trend among the legal community.

* Paraplegic Brian van Leeuwen, 28, did a wheelchair bungee to the cheers of an enthusiastic crowd in Albuquerque, N.M. He wheeled himself off a 150-foot platform, and said later, “The wheelchair is part of me.”

It seemed everyone was putting their lives in the hands of places like Bungy over Texas (spelling apparently is not a requirement), Vertigo Bungee, Bungee Mania and Air Boingo--until the summer deaths.

But those in the bungee industry are convinced that their business can overcome the problems of 1992 to bounce back even bigger and better than ever.

Said Gary Goins of Bam-Bam Bungee in St. Petersburg: “There’s a lot of mad people out there who want bungee.”